“When I was in culinary school, I realized that there was so much uncharted territory with vegan cooking and so much that was yet to be discovered that hadn't been figured out yet. I thought it was really exciting—in the culinary world, it's kind of a lot of the same foods and themes over and over again. And with vegan food, it felt like there was so much work to be done.

“When I was cooking for family and friends, I would have people say to me things like, ‘Well, I could go vegan if you cooked for me every day.’ And that got me thinking—well, how can I cook for people every day?

“That led me to go on TV and publish cookbooks, and to really show people that vegan food is not what they maybe once thought it was, and that there are a lot of exciting things you can do with it.”

“There used to be less out there in terms of resources, recipes, products, ingredients. It wasn’t as mainstream, and chefs were just working with less. So there would be different kinds of criticisms that you’d hear—people saying that either the food doesn't fill you up or it tastes dry or like cardboard or rubber. Now we've gotten to the point where we have the resources to make anything vegan just as delicious as its non-vegan counterpart.

“When it did start to go mainstream, some people started to think, oh, it’s a hot trend. That's definitely proven to be not the case—it's here to stay, because [because people are realizing] it is the most sustainable way of living and eating. And in my opinion, more delicious as well.”

“I've encountered countless obstacles, some more crippling than others. We're starting to see a shift in attitudes, which is a good step, but when I was building my career and developing my technique as a chef, being in the kitchen… it was a man's environment. And I worked in a lot of kitchens where I was the only female, and there’s generally a boys' club mentality. That was challenging.

“I remember working in a kitchen where they called me Barbie or princess. It was funny that I was there. I've even been asked if I was a student or an intern in my own kitchen before. And I had to be like, ‘No, actually, I own this place.’

“But it's a new day, which is great. I work with an all female or trans team, and it's just incredible to finally start to get the respect that we've deserved all along as people's eyes are opened to all different kinds of chefs and how they all come in different packages.”

“I think food is everything. It’s our fuel. It’s our life. It has such a powerful impact on so many factors that I think people forget, but certainly on wellbeing and wellness in general.

“I turn to food to help me through so much. I think there's nothing more positive than a nourishing meal, especially in times of stress and panic like we're all going through right now. For those of us that are lucky enough to have groceries, it's incredible just how it can change your mental state to have a good, nourishing, plant-based meal.”

“We're moving into a time where consumers are interested in knowing what they're eating, and there's a lot of emphasis on education right now, which is amazing. There are so many questions being asked, and I think that is really empowering to people to know what they're eating and what choices they're making in terms of what they're putting inside their body.

“There are things that we used to consume without ever knowing where it came from, and I think that's kind of what led me on my journey to veganism—just asking myself a simple question of, where does this dinner come from?”

“Every night, I have been making a broth: I boil water, I add in a handful of garlic cloves, turmeric, miso, ginger, and I blend it up and add some cayenne. And I've been drinking five mugfuls a night. It's delicious and nourishing and makes me feel good when I drink it.

“I also started a whole bunch of group chats on my phone, and I gave them all names. So, normally it would just be, oh, I'm chatting with mom, brother, and grandpa, but I labeled all of them so it's easier to check in on multiple people at once.

“I consider myself to be a student of a lot of things, and yeah, just always trying to learn more about things that make me feel really excited and energized, like vegan cooking or music or ... I don't know, concentrating on my animals.”

“It’s an interesting time to answer that question. I think that so many of us have built our identity and sense of self over our role in the outside world. Every day [in our current environment], I’m humbled by what's happening around me. I’m realizing that we're always all still learning.”